The UC Irvine Anteaters men's water polo program represents the University of California, Irvine in all NCAA Division I men's water polo competitions. Founded in 1965, the Anteaters compete in the Big West Conference.

The Anteaters are coached by Daniel Klatt, who has coached the team since 2022. Daniel Klatt historically only coached the UC Irvine women's water polo team since 2004, and has previously served as an assistant for the U.S. Women's Water Polo Olympic Team in 2012 and 2016. UC Irvine plays their home matches at the Anteater Aquatics Complex.

History

UC Irvine's men's water polo team won three NCAA Division I national championships in 1970, 1982, and 1989.

UC Irvine's head men's water polo coach for many years was Ted Newland, who died in 2019. As the Anteaters' head coach from 1966-2005, Newland had a lifetime record of 714–345–5. In his 39 years at the helm the Anteaters won three national championships, and the team was consistently rated among the nation's top 5 programs. Many world-class water polo players have been affiliated with UCI, with more than 70 NCAA All-Americans and 13 Olympians being produced by the program. Four Anteaters were a part of the United States team that won the silver medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

In 2023, the Big West, UC Irvine's primary conference, began sponsorship of men's water polo. UC Irvine won the inaugural Big West men's water polo regular season and championship, beating conference rival UC Santa Barbara 11–9, and ending a 30-year NCAA playoff drought dating back to 1993.

Postseason

NCAA Tournament UC Irvine has appeared in twenty-two NCAA Tournaments. Their combined record is 29–19.

1969 First Round California L 4–5 1970 First RoundSemifinalsNational Championship USCLong Beach StateUCLA W 7–4W 9–6W 7–6 1971 First Round CSU Fullerton L 4–5 1972 First RoundSemifinals UC Santa BarbaraUCLA W 16–12L 10–15 1973 First RoundSemifinalsNational Championship Long Beach StateUSCCalifornia W 7–5W 9–5L 4–8 1974 First RoundSemifinalsNational Championship UC Santa BarbaraUCLACalifornia W 10–6W 5–3L 6–7 1975 First RoundSemifinalsNational Championship UC DavisStanfordCalifornia W 19–4W 9–8L 8–9 1976 First RoundSemifinals PittsburghUCLA W 18–4L 9–14 1977 First RoundSemifinalsNational Championship ArizonaStanfordCalifornia W 14–7W 9–7L 6–8 1978 First RoundSemifinals Loyola (IL)California W 14–5L 5–7 1980 First RoundSemifinals BucknellCalifornia W 13–4L 7–9 1981 First RoundSemifinals UC Santa BarbaraStanford W 9–8L 6–13 1982 First RoundSemifinalsNational Championship BrownCaliforniaStanford W 13–2W 8–5W 7–4 1983 First RoundSemifinals Loyola (IL)USC W 12–8L 8–9 1985 First RoundSemifinalsNational Championship BrownUCLAStanford W 15–8W 7–6L 11–12 1987 First RoundSemifinals StanfordCalifornia W 8–6L 3–7 1988 First Round USC L 11–13 1989 First RoundSemifinalsNational Championship UALRStanfordCalifornia W 13–6W 8–7W 9–8 1991 First RoundSemifinals Long Beach StateCalifornia W 11–8L 10–13 1992 First RoundSemifinals PepperdineCalifornia W 11–8L 5–8 1993 First RoundSemifinals PacificStanford W 12–10L 8–10 2023 First Round Princeton L 7-12

Yearly records Below is a table of the program's yearly records.

{|class= "wikitable" ! width= px style=""| Season ! width= px style=""| Coach ! width= px style=""| Overall ! width= px style=""| Conference ! width= px style=""| Standing ! width= px style=""| Postseason

References